Minnesota History, Spring 2025
Paper Assignment Options

 

You are required to write two papers this semester and there are several different options to choose from.  You must write a different paper option/topic for each due date.  You may complete a third paper for a substantial amount of extra credit: I will award 2 percentage points to your final course grade, which is the equivalent of adding 10% to your Discussion Grade!  Late papers are accepted with a 3 point deduction per day.  Keep in mind that, at the end of the course, I will have a very limited ability to accept late papers.

No matter which option you choose, you have the option to earn 5 extra credit points if you visit with an ARCC writing tutor in person or over Zoom before you turn in your paper.  Look for more information on D2L or click here: http://www.anokaramsey.edu/resources/tutoring-services/ 

 

The first deadline is 4/1 at Noon.  If you are doing a virtual field trip, choose Fort Snelling for the first paper since we cover Fort Snelling earlier in the course. However, for this paper, I would highly recommend the Mapping Prejudice option (link below).  It's a really cool (new last year!) opportunity. You can choose to work on counties here in Minnesota!  We will be learning about the related topics in Week 9, so somewhat close to the paper due date, in which case working ahead a bit is advisable. The Mapping Prejudice paper is shorter and more "casual" than a formal academic paper, but you will need to put in some focused time on preparing to write it, so be sure to set aside enough time in the weeks before the deadline.  You may certainly choose one of the field trip options instead.  

The second deadline is 5/16 at Noon, which is the last day of Finals Week.  If you are opting for a virtual field trip, choose the State Capitol option because it lines up well with our readings at the end of the semester.  With that said, any of the topics (Mapping Prejudice, Virtual, or In Real Life field trips) are just fine, as long as you are not repeating the topic of your first paper.

Extra Credit Paper: You may complete a third paper option (whichever one you have not yet completed). I will accept this paper until the last day of the term, which would be 5/16.  Plan ahead if you're planning to do the extra credit so that you don't have two papers due the same day.

A word about AI usage: Citations for each type of paper are explained in the assignment.  I expect that your writing will be 100% YOUR writing.  Unfortunately using Grammarly now involves the use of AI (Grammarly rewrites your thoughts so they are no longer your own.)  Do not use Grammarly or other AI tools.  If your paper is flagged as being AI generated, you risk failing the assignment.

 

OPTION #1: MAPPING PREJUDICE PROJECT. Suggested for Paper #1.

New!  This option was new in Spring 2024.  Click here for the assignment.

 

OPTIONS #2 AND #3: FIELD TRIP PAPERS (VIRTUAL AND/OR IN REAL LIFE)

This assignment has changed quite a bit over the last 24+ months!  Before Covid, I required students to go on two self-guided field trips and then write a summary and analysis of their experience.  Going on a field trip to a historic location (and often bringing friends or family members along) was for many students the highlight of the course!  I was very disappointed when Covid closed all of the historic sites, so I had to devise a "virtual" field trip.  The Minnesota Historical Society has since reopened their historic sites although they are not all open year-round. I know that not everyone has the ability to drive to a field trip destination, so I will NOT be requiring you to go on an actual tour; you can opt instead for the virtual options.  


Your choices are either to visit an actual historic location IRL (in real life) AND/OR to go on a "virtual" field trip.  You can mix and match.  However, you CANNOT visit a location for Paper #1 and then write a paper about a virtual visit to the same location for Paper #2.  The two options for Virtual Field trips are Fort Snelling and the State Capitol building.  If you would like to visit either of these in person (and I highly recommend doing so!) you cannot then write the virtual option.  In other words, each paper must be about a different location so you cannot write two papers about the same place.  For example, if you want to visit Fort Snelling for the first paper, you cannot write the second paper about a virtual trip to Fort Snelling.  Visits must be conducted during this current summer class; you cannot rely on memories from a previous visit.

The two field trip options are similar in that they both ask that you to use what you've learned in this course to evaluate a historic location.  For the IRL visits, you'll also describe your experiences while on the field trip.  For the virtual option, you'll focus more on analyzing the location's website and specific issues raised by recent renovations.

If you choose to have both of your paper options be the field trip choice, here are some examples of acceptable and unacceptable choices:


Examples of acceptable choices:

Paper #1: IRL to Fort Snelling
Paper #2: Virtual visit to the State Capitol

Paper #1: Virtual visit to Fort Snelling
Paper #2: IRL visit to the Minnesota Historical Society

Example of unacceptable choices (NOT OKAY):
Paper #1: IRL to Fort Snelling
Paper #2: Virtual visit to Fort Snelling




Virtual Option #1: Fort Snelling -- click here. -- Choose this for your first paper since we will learn about Fort Snelling earlier in the course.

 Virtual Option #2: State Capitol -- click here -- Choose this for your second paper since we are reading a bit more about the Capitol at the end of the course. (Mapping Prejudice is also an excellent choice for the second paper; see above for the link.)

In Real Life IRL Field Trips: Click here for the assignment.  Click here for a list of locations.  You can pick and choose one or two locations that interest you.  If you'll be visiting Fort Snelling or the State Capitol IRL I'd suggest following the order suggested above.  You must visit a pre-approved location or have a location approved by Prof. Janke.  Papers about other non-approved locations will not receive credit.